Food containing anti-oxidants, wholegrains and vital fatty acids are likely to cut the risk of killer illnesses including heart disease, Alzheimer's and diabetes, a new study has suggested.
Scientists have found that rather than just a narrow range of foods being responsible for boosting health; the answer was a widely varied diet that might include oily fish, porridge oats and blueberries.
"The key is definitely to introduce these kinds of foods into the diet. It is a very healthy diet and completely proves the point that it is about healthy eating as a whole, not just doing one thing," the Daily Express quoted nutritionist Angela Dowden, as saying.
"It is a lifestyle change instead of tweaks here and there. It could be that it is just one of the foods that is producing these effects but it is much more likely that it is an additive affect of them all contributing," she added.
Results of the study carried out at Antidiabetic Food Centre at Lund University in Sweden have shown that it is multiple rather than just single foods with anti-inflammatory effects that work wonders.
The study saw 44 healthy but overweight people between the ages of 50 and 75 take part.
They ate foods, which are presumed to reduce low-grade inflammation in the body, a condition that in turn triggers metabolic syndrome that leads to obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
The results showed that the diet slashed bad cholesterol by 33 per cent, lipids - blood fats - by 14 per cent, blood pressure by 8 per cent and a risk marker for blood clots by 26 per cent.
A marker of inflammation in the body was also greatly reduced, while memory and cognitive function were improved.
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This is the best suggestion that I have ever seen. It is difficult to keep track of various food items. So, it is okay to rotate between food items and not eat a single dish regularly. This will ensure that you get all that what you want. The diet will be balanced one as a result of variety of food items.
G. K. Ajmani Tax consultant http://gkajmani-mystraythoughts.blogspot.com/
There is a lot of research which shows that eating a variety of foods improves your health and reduces your risk of disease -
Eating a wide range of healthy foods in small quantities may:
* Protect against diabetes and cardiovascular (heart and circulation) disease.
* Help you to live longer.
* Improve your overall health.
* Reduce abdominal fat.
* Reduce risk of some cancers.
There is also some new thinking on cancer - it is being increasingly seen as a disease of dietary deficiency and it is a lack of protective foods in our diet that make us vulnerable. Some protective foods, for example tea, may be low in nutrients, but are nearly always high in phytochemicals.
Food variety also benefits people who have a particular disease, for example, people who have diabetes may have:
* Reduced risk of macrovascular (large vessel) disease for people with type 2 diabetes.
* Reduced blood sugar levels.
It is very important for a person to eat a variety of foods for several reasons. By eating only one kind of food, the aspect of boredom will arise. Say, for instance, you have a banana for a snack every day for a month. You will get bored and tired of eating banans. Instead, try a variety of fruit. On Monday maybe you can have a banana, then on Tuesday switch over to some watermelon, and on Wednesday, eat some strawberries, etc. By getting a variety of foods you will make eating a lot more enjoyable.
Eating a variety of foods is also very important for a balanced diet. By eating only one or two kinds of foods, you will not get the proper balance in your diet that you should have. If you feel you aren't getting the proper diet you should have, vitamin or mineral supplements might be a good choice for you. Althought convenient, supplements taken in large amounts can be harmful to your body.
The following section will discuss some of the potential health benefits of different foods.
It is worth keeping in mind that since many foods are such a complex mixture of different chemicals scientists cannot say with any certainty
~ how these chemicals function or interact with each other or
~ which chemicals provide the best health benefits
For these reasons it would seem wise to eat a variety of foods.
Food supplements or vitamin and mineral supplements can play an important role in health especially for those people who are sick, and/or have poor food habits. Supplements, however, lack the complexity of food and are therefore likely to lack many of the potential health benefits.
